Monsters, Inc 2: Return of Boo
by MaterLisa
Summary: It's been twelve years since Boo's adventure in Monstropolis. But the reappearance of Randall prompts her to come back, and this time she's brought her four best friends along for the ride. Will they survive boiling hot-costumes and Mike's crazy family for long enough to save the day? Does Boo even want to go home?
1. Chapter 1: The Slumber Party

Chapter 1: The Slumber Party

Sophomore girls are really too old for slumber parties, but it's not stopping us from having one.

The room is plastered with Halloween decorations – Jack O' Lanterns provide the only light in the room, and black bats cut out from cardboard are hanging from the ceiling. My four friends and I, still in costume, have polished off the pumpkin pie baked by my mom, so the tin has been abandoned by the door. Candy wrappers cover the floor and show no sign of having any candy left in them. Sophie's little brother Greg obviously didn't know what he was letting himself in for when he let us take our pick from his trick-or-treat sack.

Sophie's blue eyes are looking up at me through blonde curls framed by an elaborate tiara. From her sleeping bag on the floor, her scaly sea-green dress and flippers shimmer in the candlelight, as do her silver fishnet tights. For a second, I feel kind of bad sitting in my big bed while my friends are in sleeping bags all the way down there, but then I think, _Hey – my bedroom, my rules. _

"Hey, Mary," says Sophie, "fancy a game of Spin the Bottle?"

Psyche (yes, that's her _real_ name) suddenly takes her nose out of her _Oxford Dictionary of First Names_ and stares at Sophie with wide, grey eyes. Being a Yeti for a day, pretty much her whole costume is white and fluffy, from her hooded jacket and baggy trousers down to her thick boots. Even her brown hair has been streaked with white hair dye.

"I do hope we shall be playing the Truth or Dare version," she says in her posh British accent, "and not the version in which we must kiss each other."

"You dummy!" cries Linden, the ginger cat-girl. "You can't play the kissing game without boys! I thought everyone knew that."

"I didn't know that," pipes up Caprice, the plant monster in the far corner near the bookcase. She shyly wraps a strand of red hair around her leaf-green finger. "I mean, if we were lesbians, we wouldn't need-"

"Truth or Dare it is," Sophie interrupts. I sigh with relief, glad that the conversation didn't stray into an awkward topic. That's one of the reasons why Sophie is my best friend – she knows what to do to make everything okay, something which my other friends don't quite understand. Linden is too bitchy, Caprice is too shy, and Psyche's skills lie in things like quantum physics and English literature, not social interaction and knowing when to shut up.

Sophie grabs an empty Diet Coke bottle and takes the first turn. It points to Linden, who makes a small smile.

"Truth or Dare?" asks Sophie.

"Dare," says Linden, without hesitation.

Sophie thinks for a bit, and then gathers up all the candy wrappers from the floor, making a pile in front of Linden. "I dare you to go to my house next door and show Greg how much candy we've eaten."

For a moment, Linden's eyes widen in fear, which is an unusual look for the most popular (and meanest) girl in high school. Pretty soon, though, the fear disappears. She scoops up the pile of candy wrappers and sashays out the door.

When she's gone, we all rush to the window and peep out. We see Linden stride down the sidewalk, tail swinging, and up the path to Sophie's house. We don't see her knock on the door and we don't see Greg answer it – but we can hear him just fine.

Seriously, if words were rocks, Linden would be black and blue. As she faces Greg's wrath, I cover my mouth with the tentacles of my costume to stifle the giggles. Finally, Greg slams the door and Linden storms away.

"Did you notice," says Psyche, "that Greg was shouting at her for exactly four minutes?"

"You timed it?" asks Caprice.

"I did," says Psyche. She shows us the stopwatch on her cell phone. She's right – it's exactly four minutes.

That's when I surrender to the giggles. I bend over and laugh out loud, and pretty soon tears are streaming down my face and my sides hurt. Everyone else joins in – except Linden, who suddenly appears in the doorway with a face that could kill.

Slowly and deliberately, she snarls, "I. Am. Going. To. Kill. You. All."

She points at the space by my bed where all the sleeping bags are, and we rush back to our places. I quickly wipe the tears from my face before Linden sees them.

"I'm going to kill you," she repeats, "starting with-" she spins the Coke bottle violently "-you!"

The bottle is pointing to me.

I look Linden in the eyes and smile. "Hit me with your best shot," I say.

"Truth or Dare?"

Normally I'd choose Dare, but I'm feeling brave tonight. I take a deep breath and say, "Truth."

"Why are you so obsessed with monsters?"

_Darn it. _

I look down at my costume, hoping for answers. It's a monster costume, made of purple chair fabric with grey tentacles that probably came from a shower curtain. A lamp makes up an eye on a stalk, and the hair comes from an old mop. The costume is hooded, and I have to see out through the teeth of the mouth. This is the costume that was made for me twelve years ago – only made much bigger, of course.

This is the costume that Kitty and Uncle Mike made for me.

All I've told my friends is that Kitty is the father figure in my life who visits me a lot and that Uncle Mike is a long-lost uncle that only I know about who writes to me occasionally.

They don't know that Kitty has blue fur and purple spots.

They don't know that Uncle Mike is small and green and only has one eye – not because he lost the other eye, but because he was born that way.

They don't know that Kitty and Uncle Mike live in Monstropolis, a city in a world beyond ours.

They don't know about this world behind our closet doors full of friendly monsters.

They don't know about what I did there twelve years ago.

I grip the sides of the bed and blink a few times, trying to pull myself together. "I-" I say, but no more words will come.

Everyone is looking at me. Even Psyche has put her Dictionary aside and is waiting patiently. "Go on," she prompts.

"Well," I say, "twelve years ago, I met Kitty and Uncle Mike-"

"We know that," Linden interrupts. "What's that got to do with anything?"

"I'm getting there," I insist. "They live in a city called Monstropolis." I pause.

"Where's that?" asks Caprice.

_Now for the tricky part. _

"Monstropolis is-"

I'm cut off by the sound of the closet door creaking open slowly.

"Oh no!" cries Caprice, clutching her pillow to her chest. "There's something in your closet!"

Now, when I told my friends that Kitty visits me a lot, I sort of forgot to mention that he comes through my closet door just about every night.

And it seems like I forgot to tell him about my slumber party.

"Don't worry, there's nothing in the closet," I say loudly. "Even if there was, it wouldn't dare to ruin a slumber party – would it?"

The closet door slams shut.

_He got the message. That was a close one. _

"Okay, this is all too strange," says Linden. "What was that all about?"

Before I can think of a good excuse, something strange happens, something even I wasn't expecting.

The top drawer of my chest of drawers opens by itself.

As I slowly get up to close it, the drawer moves by itself again and slams shut. A flash of purple makes me jump, and I fall back onto the bed. A lizard-like figure has materialised in front of the chest and is now arching his back and hissing at me.

A small scream escapes my lips.

Randall's back.


	2. Chapter 2: Return of Randall

Chapter 2: Return of Randall

Randall stands up straight – well, as straight as a lizard can get – and grins at me. "Well, whadda ya know?" he says. "It scares little kids _and_ big kids."

I frown. "I wasn't scared! I was just . . . confused. What are you doing here?"

The evil lizard laughs. "What, can't a guy just check up on the girl who ruined his life-" he leans into me on those last words "-and see how she's doing?"

I try to sit up, forcing him to back off. "Well, if you must know, you're ruining our slumber party."

He turns and sees my friends in their ridiculous costumes, who are all staring at him. Caprice shuffles even further into her corner.

"Hey there!" Randall says to them, waving like they're his old friends. "Name's Randall, Randall Boggs. Guess Mary here didn't tell you about me, huh?"

"No, she's never said a word," says Psyche. "But she has told us an awful lot about Kitty."

"Kitty?" says Randall.

I try to pull a _please-stop-talking_ face at Psyche.

"Oh, yes, everything she says is Kitty this and Kitty that," Psyche continues, totally oblivious to me. "Of course, when it's not Kitty this, it's Uncle Mike that-"

"Psyche!" I yell.

See what I mean about Psyche not knowing when to shut up? Randall might not know who Kitty is, but he's bound to recognise Mike's name.

For a few seconds, no-one says anything. It's Randall who breaks the silence.

"This Uncle Mike . . ." he says quietly. "What's his last name?"

Psyche's finally got the hint, because she shrugs and says, "We don't know." I notice that she suddenly finds her feet extremely fascinating.

"It wouldn't happen to be _Wazowski_, would it?" asks Randall, slowly emphasising each syllable of the surname.

I stand up. "You know what?" I say, looking straight into Randall's eyes. "I think you should leave." I pause. "_Now_," I add.

Randall has to look away. "Fine, fine," he mutters. I notice him peering at the closet door, which is a dull white and painted with faded flowers. If he's doing what I think he's doing, it's not going to be good.

Randall frowns down at Sophie and she immediately shuffles out of her sleeping bag to clear a path for him. He walks over to the door and opens it.

Above the creak of the hinges, music is playing. It sounds like. . .

"'Time Warp'?" says Randall. "What a cliché. Still, that's what Halloween parties are for . . . clichés by the bucket-load, right?"

"Why would there be a party in a closet?" asks Linden.

I gasp in realisation. _Kitty didn't turn the power off!_

Randall ignores Linden's question. "This sound like fun," he says. "I hate to crash a good party, but, well. . ."

"Don't you dare go in there, Randall Boggs!" I yell. "You're banished, remember? Stay out!"

He looks at me with a patronising smirk, as if I must be stupid. "No, I'm not," he says. "Not officially. I can do whatever I like."

With those last words, he darts through the door.

"Randall!"

I dash over before the door can close and yank it fully open, running through without hesitation. It's too late, though – one glance around proves that he's not anywhere in the dark room.

"He got away!" I snarl. "That creep! Who does he think he is? 'I can do whatever I like-'"

"Mary?" says Sophie.

I turn to my left and see Sophie standing next to me. She's biting her bottom lip and looking at me with concern.

All of my friends are in Monstropolis.

Of course, this is only a small part of it. This is the Simulation room, with crimson walls and black double doors. Television screens illuminate the room and reveal a fake kid's bedroom – the Laugh Simulator. My door is hidden at the back of the room amongst lots and lots of boxes, behind the control panel. Only Kitty knows where this is.

Behind me, Linden gasps. "Wow," she says, "Narnia sure looks different."


	3. Chapter 3: Definitely Not Narnia

Chapter 3: Definitely Not Narnia

I turn slowly to face my friends. "This isn't Narnia," I say. "This is definitely not Narnia. This is Monstropolis."

All my friends are looking around, drinking the details in curiosity. I remember I did the same thing when I first came here, when I was three. Psyche closes the door behind her.

"A world beyond ours," she says, "and no-one knows anything about it. How did you find this?"

"It was an accident," I say. "You know, this is all probably too much to take in. Let's go back and-"

That's when I notice that the red light above the closet door has gone out. When I open the door, all I see is the wall behind it. My bedroom has completely disappeared.

"We can't get back!" cries Caprice, always the voice of doom.

"There must be something to press that can turn the power back on," I say to myself. Looking down at the control panel, I see all sorts of buttons – some with numbers, some with letters, one with an arrow like the _Enter_ on a keyboard, and one that is completely red.

"Maybe it's this one," I say, to myself again. I press the _Enter_ button and hope for the best.

But the red light doesn't come back on.

Instead, a pole comes out of the ground and lifts the door up to a metal track on the ceiling. Claws emerge from the track and grab the top of the door, and it sweeps through a tunnel in the wall. The pole comes back down, and I'm facing an empty space.

"Oops," I say.

But "Oops" isn't good enough now.

"Mary, you are such an idiot sometimes!" snaps Linden. She walks over and slaps me.

The sounds of the smack and Sophie's gasp keep bouncing off the walls and returning to me, then echoing again. I slowly lift a tentacle to my left cheek, which is now stinging like Hell. Linden's fake claws must have scratched me as well.

In all the years I've known Linden, she has never raised her hand in anger – maybe her voice, but not her hand.

"What are we going to do now? Where did it go?" asks Linden.

I pull my hood up over my head. "There's a door vault," I hear myself say. "It's where the monsters keep all the closet doors to children in the human world. It must have gone back there." As I talk, I feel strange. I'm outside myself – like I'm hearing my voice on a TV documentary and not understanding what it's saying.

"Can't we get it back?" asks Sophie.

"You need a card key for that," I say, "and we don't have a card key."

"Well then, what's our plan of action?" asks Psyche.

"And who are the monsters?" asks Caprice. "I don't like monsters. I don't like this place. We have to get that card key!"

"Okay, okay," I say, "keep your leaves on. Seriously, one's just fallen off."

Caprice bends down, picks up a paper leaf and sticks it back on to her arm with Blu-Tack (actually painted green to match the rest of her outfit).

"Right," I say, addressing my friends like a General rallying his troops. "Monstropolis is the home of monsters. It's full of creatures big and small, in every colour of the rainbow. They had portals to our world in this company – Monsters Incorporated – so that they could collect our screams as a power source. They're not bad guys," I add quickly, seeing how Caprice is twisting her red hair around her finger, as she always does when she's worried. "Randall isn't that nice, but just about everyone else is."

I look at my feet for a minute and then look at my friends again. "It was here that I met Kitty and Uncle Mike. Kitty is big and blue and furry, and Uncle Mike is small and green and only has one eye. They were great. But having a child in Monstropolis really shook up the place. See, they used to think human kids were toxic, and everyone . . . well, they freaked out.

"Now, though, things have changed. Thanks to me, Kitty found out that laughter is ten times more powerful than screams, and that saved the company. But some people are still weary of humans, even though we're not toxic after all. So we'd better have good costumes." I gasp, surprised that I've been talking for so long without taking a breath.

All four girls are looking at me. No-one says anything for a few seconds, until Psyche asks, "Do we?"

"Do we what?" I say.

"Do we have good costumes?"

I look the girls up and down. Psyche is pretty convincing as a Yeti – she's so furry that I can't tell where the costume ends and she begins. Sophie's definitely a sea creature, as I realise that the sea-green body paint, flippers and pearls in her hair were a nice touch. Linden has really gone to town with her cat-girl costume – her black boots and gloves have claws, her orange headband has cat ears, her black mask looks like a cat's face, and her belt has an orange-and-black striped tail to match her leggings and shirt. The only thing to worry about is the possibility of Caprice's leaves falling off, but since her t-shirt, leggings, ballet pumps and skin are green as well, she should be okay.

As for my costume . . . if it fooled the monsters once, it can fool them again.

I say, "We've got a cat, a plant, a Yeti, a sea creature, and a UPM."

"UPM?" says Psyche.

"Unidentified Purple Monster," I explain. "This could work!"

Sophie sighs. "Maybe someone at the party will help us out," she says.

"Yeah," I say. "Yeah!" I add suddenly. An idea is forming. "Uncle Mike has a big apartment – he might give us a place to stay if we ask him nicely. Let's go and find him!"

And so, filled with fresh hope, a cat, a plant, a Yeti, a sea creature and a UPM leave the room and follow the signs to the Laugh Floor.


	4. Chapter 4: The Monster Mash

Chapter 4: The Monster Mash

The Laugh Floor is crowded. Everywhere I look, there are monsters – the monster world and his wife have all gathered here, and most of them have children. A buffet has been arranged where the closet doors would normally be, and I don't think I can see any piece of food that doesn't have a cocktail stick with a pumpkin picture on it. Black, bat-shaped bunting hangs below the windows, which have shutters drawn across to block out any light (not that there's much light at night-time). The families' conversations are drowned out by a new song.

_(They did the mash!) _

_They did the monster mash. _

_(The monster mash!) _

_It was a graveyard smash. _

_(They did the mash!) _

_It caught on in a flash. _

_(They did the mash!) _

_They did the monster mash. _

Silver tiles have been placed in the middle of the room as a makeshift dance floor. Not everyone is in costume, but I can still see an awful lot of pointy witch hats, Frankenstein stitches and long Dracula capes.

"What are we looking for?" Sophie yells into my ear.

"Mike's pretty short, and he's green, and he's only got one eye," I yell back, scouring the crowd. "He's basically a sphere on legs."

"What if he's not there?" asks Sophie.

"Don't worry!" I cry. "I've found his wife!"

I grab Sophie's arm with one hand and Psyche's arm with the other and drag them towards the dance floor, with Caprice and Linden following close behind.

Celia Mae Wazowski is doing a simple shuffle dance, shaking her hips left and right. She's wearing a clean, white dress and black sunglasses, and gold bangles are balanced on her purple tentacles. The snakes in her hair keep moving in the opposite direction to her body, giving the impression that her head isn't really moving.

"Only one eye," says Linden. "They were made for each other!" Her voice is low and seductive.

I let go of Psyche to elbow Linden in the ribs, and then I do my own little shuffle over to Celia.

"Hey, Medusa!" I say. "I don't think the Ancient Greeks had sunglasses, you know!"

"Well, the Gorgons did," says Celia, with that nice, cringe-inducing voice you'd normally hear from a kindergarten teacher. "You don't want me turning anyone to stone, do you?"

I shrug. "Maybe not."

Celia leans in closer, and then gasps. "Mary! Is that you? Why are you here? Is something wrong?"

"Um . . . kind of," I say. I don't want to worry her too much. "Say, where's Mike? Can I talk to him?"

"You can try," says Celia. She points to the ceiling. "He's up there."

I lift my hood up just a little and peer up through the gap. All I can see is a disco ball and a few strobe lights. But when I look closer. . .

Mike _is_ the disco ball.

I can just about see the shiny square tiles stuck all over his body. His legs dangle down and his arms move about, like he's trying to dance along with the monsters on the floor. _He must have been forced into doing this,_ I think.

"Hey, Mike!" I yell. "Get down here! I need to talk to you!"

It's no use. His arms just keep moving without a care in the world – well, with some care so he doesn't fall down. I wait until the song reaches its end-

_(Then you can mash!) _

_Then you can monster mash. _

-and I try again.

"MIKE!"

That gets a reaction. His legs jerk suddenly, his arms flail, and before I know it . . .

. . . he's falling.

"Googly-bear!" screams Celia.

The dance floor is in chaos. Monsters are running everywhere and shouting at each other.

"I got him!"

"No, I got him!"

"Where is he?"

"Where's he going?"

"Somebody do something!"

"Think of the children!"

Just as he's about to hit the floor, a pair of hairy orange arms reach out and catch him. The hero lifts Mike above his head as people cheer.

"Three cheers for George!" someone cries, and soon everyone is going, "Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray! Hip hip, hooray!"

When George finally puts Mike down, Celia rushes forward and hugs him. "Googly bear!" she cries, kissing him over and over again.

I step forward and gently take Mike's arm. "Can I talk to you for a second?" I ask, steering him away from the crowd and towards the pumpkin buffet.

Mike yanks his arm away. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, did you see that fall?" he says. "I could've died back there!"

"Okay, okay." I throw my hands up in defence. "I'm glad you're alive, all right? But this is important."

"What could be more important than-?"

He stops when I lift up my hood, and gasps. "Boo?"

I nod. "You see, I was having this slumber party, and Kitty nearly walked in on it-"

"He did?"

"Yeah, so I warned him, and he left, but he didn't turn the power off."

"Moron!" Mike mutters.

"That's not the worst part," I say, my voice going higher pitched. "Randall got in!"

"Wait a minute, Randall? Why'd you invite _Randall_ to a slumber party?"

"I didn't invite him, he just turned up! And you're definitely focusing on the wrong part of that! Randall is back in the monster world! He's up to something!"

Mike crosses his arms. "And you thought you'd come back and save the day?"

"Well, I. . ."

"Even though you know how dangerous he is?"

"Um. . ."

"Are you trying to be a hero or something?"

"Let me speak!" I snap.

_How do I explain this? _

"Okay," I start slowly, "the oor-day ent-way ack-bay to the ault-vay and I'm uck-stay in Onstropolis-may with my uman-hay iends-fray."

Mike just frowns at me.

"_What?_"

I lean in and hiss, "The door went back to the vault and I'm stuck in Monstropolis with my human friends!"

"Oh!" Mike sighs. Then his eye widens. "Wait, you have friends here? _Human_ friends?"

I wave my friends over and they stand in a line in front of him. His eye keeps moving from one end of the line to the other and back again.

"We can't go back without a card key, and it's too late to go back into the vault," I say. "We really need a place to stay until there's a way of getting home."

"If you think you're staying at my place-" Mike starts to say, but I cut him off.

"Please?" I whine.

He clenches his hands into fists, and then relaxes them. "Celia's not going to like this."

At that moment, Celia wanders over. "It's getting late," she says. "We should be getting back. We can't keep the babysitter out too late."

"Shmoopsie-poo?" says Mike nervously. "Do you mind if, uh, Boo crashes with us for the night . . . with her friends?" he adds, smiling nervously.

"Of course I mind!" snaps Celia. "What are you thinking?! One little girl was bad enough, but five teenagers . . . for Godzilla's sake, it's ridiculous! If Sulley finds out-"

"Oh, what's he gonna do, banish his best friend?" asks Mike. "He likes Boo. And her friends can't be too bad either. They can't go back to their room, and we've got a spare room, so why not use it? Just for tonight?"

Celia sighs. "Just for tonight," she echoes. "But make them keep their hands where I can see them."


	5. Chapter 5: In Mike's Apartment

**Author Notes: Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far! Your comments are welcomed, along with any constructive criticism. By the way, if anyone here likes "Cars," there's a poll for a series of oneshots I hope to write. Even if you don't like "Cars," check it out and spread the word to those who do! Thank you! J**

Chapter 5: In Mike's Apartment

Mike's apartment is only a ten-minute walk away from Monsters, Inc., but he still insists on driving us all there in his large, flashy new car. Once we get there, I realise that it's not the place where I stayed before, but a completely new block. Inside, on the top floor, there's a clear colour scheme to the living room – the walls are lime green, while the carpets and blinds are dark purple. Every piece of furniture is either green or purple, except for the black TV and the multi-coloured toys littering the floor. A breakfast bar separates the living room from the kitchen, which has wooden cupboards and pale green tiles on the ground.

"Well, this is our place," whispers Mike. "The spare room's just down the hall. Quiet, the kids are sleeping."

We all set off tiptoeing through the room – and Caprice promptly steps on a clownfish toy that squeaks. Everyone shushes her, and I see her blushing under the green body paint.

A purple door opens in front of us and two very small monsters rush out. One is green and has purple snakes for hair, as well as arms with clawed fingers and toes. The other is purple and bald, with two tentacle arms and four tentacle legs. Both are one-eyed and have long eyelashes.

"Hi, Daddy!" they say in unison.

"Are you two still awake?" asks Mike, frowning.

"The babysitter let us stay up," says the green girl.

"Who're those people?" asks the purple girl.

"This is Mary," says Mike, pointing to me, "and these are her friends . . . I never got their names."

"Sophie, Psyche, Caprice and Linden," I say, pointing to each girl in turn.

Mike gulps. "You kids need name tags or something," he sighs. "Uh, these are-"

"I'm Scarelett," says the green girl.

"And I'm Fearona," says the purple girl.

"We're non-identical twins!" they say together, and burst into giggles.

"Okay kids, back to bed," says Celia. "We need to show our guests to their room."

"See you tomorrow!" the twins say as they return to their bedrooms.

We go a little further down the hallway, and then Mike opens another door. "Here's your room," he says. "The bathroom's opposite, and if you need us, we're right next door."

"Thanks," I grin. "We'll be nice and quiet, won't we?"

All my friends nod.

Mike edges round us as we enter the spare bedroom. It's got exactly the same colour scheme as the rest of the house – green walls and ceiling, a purple carpet, a green furry rug, purple flowery curtains, a double bed with a purple headboard and a green quilt, and a green bedside table with a purple lamp and an alarm clock.

"Well, you've certainly got a theme going," I say.

Mike doesn't reply. When I turn around, the door is closed. He's already left us to our own devices.

"What now?" asks Sophie.

I shrug. "We take off these hot costumes and go to sleep, I guess."

Psyche's way ahead of me. She's already thrown her jacket and boots into the corner of the room and is snuggling up in bed. "I know a good joke about beds," she says.

Linden groans. Psyche's jokes are never that funny.

"What is it?" I say.

Psyche sits up. "A patient says to his doctor, 'I keep dreaming that there are big, slimy, bug-eyed monsters playing Tiddlywinks under my bed.' What does the doctor suggest?"

We stare at Psyche, waiting for an answer.

"The doctor says, 'Hide the Tiddlywinks!'"

We carry on staring at Psyche. She suddenly starts laughing at herself, and it's a loud, gasping laugh.

Above our heads, the light bulb glows ever brighter. I can hear an electrical humming that gradually increases in pitch.

"Oh, no!" I whisper.

The light bulb shatters into tiny glass pieces. Caprice yelps.

Silence.

A baby crying.

Footsteps down the hallway.

Mike bursts through the door.

"All right, who laughed?" he snarls.

Caprice points to Psyche, who pulls the quilt over her head, absolutely terrified.

"This is great," says Mike, "you've caused a blackout in the entire apartment block, and now Roary's crying!"

"Who's Roary?" asks Linden.

"His son, I guess," I explain.

"Just go to bed," Mike sighs.

He leaves, slamming the door behind him.

Slowly, Roary quietens down, and we stand awkwardly in the spare bedroom.

"What happened just then?" asks Psyche, peeking out from under the covers.

"That was a perfect demonstration of the power of laughter," I say. "When you scream, the lights in this apartment flicker on and off, but that's it. When you laugh, the whole apartment block is overloaded."

Psyche yawns. "No more power spikes," she promises. "I'm tired."

I wriggle out of my costume and we all crawl into bed. I'm on the outside nearest the door, with Sophie to my left. Caprice is safely in the middle, next to Psyche, and Linden is near the window "just in case." We lie together in silence. No-one even moves. After a long time, Psyche drops off, closely followed by Caprice and Linden. I try to talk to Sophie, but she starts burbling nonsense and yawning. Pretty soon, she is asleep too.

I'm the last one to close my eyes.


	6. Chapter 6: Nightmares and Plans

Chapter 6: Nightmares and Plans

_I'm eight years old and I'm a bridesmaid, sitting at a table with Mike and Celia, the happy couple. Normally, I'd feel like a princess in such a beautiful purple dress. Right now, though, it's hard to be anything but self-conscious when I've got a green mask over my face to hide my human features. _

_Celia stands up. "To the bridesmaids!" she toasts. _

_Everyone chinks glasses, even me. But when I take a sip of my "child-friendly champagne," some of the bubbly liquid dribbles down my chin. Another bridesmaid, whom I recognise as Celia's cousin, dabs at me with a napkin. _

_"__It's not coming off," she says. "It's stained your skin, like. . ." _

_Her napkin freezes in mid-air. She yanks the fabric mask off my head. _

_Everyone gasps. _

_Celia was wrong. The disguise wasn't enough. _

_I'm human again. _

_I'm vulnerable again. _

_The best man scoops me up in his furry arms and takes off down the hallway. I cling to him and peek over his shoulder, seeing Mike and Celia following close behind. _

_Above the monster's screams, Mike's saying, "I can't believe you thought it was a good idea to invite Boo to the wedding!" _

_We reach a darkened room, where Kitty puts me down and opens a white door. "You're safe now," he tells me as I'm pushed through. _

_Mom is standing in my room, arms folded, tapping a foot impatiently. _

_"__Where have you been?" she asks. _

_"__Nowhere," I mumble. _

_"__Come on, you can tell me. I'm your mother. I need to know." _

_"__I can't tell you. It's a secret." _

_Mom sighs. "You're crying, Boo. Let me help you." She reaches down and takes my arm. _

_I yank it away. "I'm not Boo, I'm Mary. And what happened is none of your business." _

_Mom looks at me for what feel like forever. She's completely confused by my sudden secrecy. I guess that's why she slaps me. She doesn't know what else to do. _

_I'm knocked off my feet. I'm falling into a hole, a hole full of terrified monsters, a hole full of mocking students, a hole lined with pictures of Kitty and Uncle Mike that I can't show anyone now. _

_But then all I can see is my mother's face. _

_She's roaring. _

_It's the kind of roar that comes from a monster, not a mother. . . _

Someone's screaming, and I sit up straight, drenched in sweat. The light flickers above the bed, and it takes me a few seconds to realise that the person screaming is me. I shut my mouth, and the room fades into darkness again.

The doorknob turns slowly and Mike walks in. "What now?" he hisses. "Can't a guy just get some sleep without worrying about the CDA?"

I don't want to see Mike's angry face, so I check the time. 1:32.

"I had a bad dream," I whisper.

When I glance up, Mike is by the bed, with the saddest expression I've seen on him. "What was it about?"

I wipe some sweat off my forehead. All I can say is "The wedding day."

The wedding day, when I realised that I could never fit in with monsters. When I stopped telling people about my artwork. When I started doing anything to avoid being called a freak.

When my mom started hitting me.

I hug Mike. Well, I don't _hug_ him, exactly – I'm really using him as a headrest. Mike just stands there looking up at me while I shift and place my right arm around him.

I notice the cigarette burn. I'd pointed out a SMOKING KILLS billboard to my stepdad, Damon. Mom asked him for a lighter, ignited a death stick and stabbed me with it when he wasn't looking. That was only last week.

The memory of that day makes the unshed tears leak out.

"I gotta call a plumber," says Mike. "The ceiling's leaking."

It doesn't cheer me up, but I smile anyway.

When the other girls get up, it takes a while to convince them that monster food is safe for human consumption and monster toothpaste isn't radioactive or anything. Eventually, we're all sitting around the breakfast bar, with pieces of paper scattered around.

"How big is the door vault?" asks Sophie.

Psyche taps a pencil on her sheet. "There are around seven billion people in the world-"

"They can't all be children, though," Caprice butts in. Psyche raises a hand patiently.

"According to a website, the total number of children in the world is approximately two billion," she says. "I can't be sure, though. That fact came from Wikipedia."

"That's a lot of doors," murmurs Caprice.

"Understatement of the century!" says Linden.

"But that really depends on what you mean by children," says Mike. "That could mean anyone under eighteen, but we don't use certain doors if the kid's over thirteen. Heck, even twelve's pushing it. That's when they stop laughing and start moping over how no-one understands them."

"That's still a lot of doors," says Caprice.

"If you don't use _our_ doors because we're teenagers, then why do you still have Mary's door?" asks Linden. "She's fifteen."

Mike looks at me. "Boo's special," he says.

I blush and look down at the ideas on my piece of paper. Two words stand out – _card key_.

"Do you still have my card key?" I ask Mike.

He frowns. "We might. Sulley said he had it hidden somewhere, but he never told me the exact location."

"Who's Sulley?" asks Psyche.

"James P. Sullivan," I explain. "He's the CEO of Monsters, Inc." I promise myself I'll tell them about Kitty later, when there's more time.

"If we went to the card key store," Mike says, "we could have a look around for any secret hidey-holes where Sulley might have hidden it."

"But we saw the door go back to the vault," says Linden. "Wouldn't _that_ be the best place to go?"

An idea pops into my head. "Linden, Psyche, do you still have your cell phones?"

Linden proudly holds up her Smartphone, while Psyche is a little slower to reveal her "Dumbphone," as she calls it.

"Well, we could split up, then," I say. "Linden and I will go to the vault and search for the door that way. Psyche and Caprice will go to the card key store and look for the card key. We'll use the cell phones to communicate and update everyone with information. When Psyche and Caprice find the card key, they can use that to get the door to the Simulation room, and that's how Linden and I will get back."

"What about us?" ask Sophie and Mike at the same time.

"I'm not sure," I say. "Mike knows his way around, so he should find the card key store for us. On the other hand, if he was in the door vault, we could search more of it. . ."

"I know what we could do!" says Mike. "The card key store isn't hard to find, so if I get Yeti and Plant Monster there first, then I can search the vault with Sea Creature while you go off with Cat-Girl."

"We have names, you know!" says Linden, but Mike ignores her.

"And there'll still be communication," he says, "because monsters can have cell phones too."

"But when will we start searching?" asks Sophie. "If we're scrabbling around the card keys and the doors, it might look suspicious."

"There's a lunch break from 12:00 to 12:30," says Mike. "That gives us thirty minutes to look around. The Laugh Floor will be empty, so no-one's going to be using card keys or doors. That'll make the search easier."

"Great!" I say, standing up. "We'll go now so we can make the most of our time. Is everyone happy with that?"

Mike and the girls nod, but Psyche doesn't look at all happy.

"Psyche?"

"It's not the plan," she says. "That's fine. But I keep trying to work it out . . . who was this Randall that came to the slumber party?"

"He was my scarer, and a bad guy," I say. "When kids got harder to scare, he teamed up with the old boss, Mr. Waternoose, and tried to stop the energy crisis."

"He tried to stop the energy crisis?" Psyche repeats. "That makes him sound like a decent bloke."

"He did that by kidnapping children," I say, "Including me."

"I retract my statement," says Psyche.

Mike picks up his car keys and heads for the door. "See you later, Shmoopsie-poo," he calls. "I'm going to work."

Celia appears in the doorway, carrying a child who looks like an even smaller version of Mike. I'm guessing that he's Roary.

"You don't work on Sundays," says Celia.

"I am today," says Mike. "I'm helping these girls find their way home."

He opens the door and we file out. Celia follows us and says, "Michael?"

"Yes?"

"Keep the girls safe."

She closes the door, leaving the six of us to set off on our mission.


	7. Chapter 7: The Door Vault

**Author Notes: I've got a challenge for you – spot the reference to "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat." It's shouldn't be too hard to find . . . Thanks again for the reviews, and keep spreading the word about the "Cars" poll! Enjoy! :)**

Chapter 7: The Door Vault

I don't want to push our luck, but so far everything's going well. The car journey was smooth (although Linden spent a long time adjusting her seat); we got into Monsters, Inc. without any issues; and our costumes must be effective because no-one has cried, "Look out, they're humans!" or anything like that.

There's only one obstacle left.

Roz.

Right now, the yellow slug-like dispatch manager is in her office, next to the entrance to the Laugh Floor. Her newspaper's headline reads, FIVE-HEADED TEEN GROWS SIXTH HEAD – PARENTS SURPRISED.

"Leave it to me, kids," says Mike. He confidently strolls over to the window.

"Roz, my sweet garden snail, how are we this morning?"

He reaches out for a file, but Roz slams her newspaper down on top.

"Wazowski," she drones, "you don't work on Sundays."

"Well. . ." Mike laughs. "Good workers sure have a strong work ethic, don't they?"

"Good workers don't forget to file their paperwork three days in a row."

Mike clears his throat. "Listen, we've got a tricky situation on our hands that I can't explain. I _really_ need the thing that gets us into the card key store."

Roz's expression doesn't change. Mike rushes on, "If you can do that for me, I promise I'll file all my paperwork. I'll even file other people's paperwork if that's what it takes."

"It doesn't matter how much paperwork you do," says Roz. "I can't give you the key without permission from Mr. Sullivan."

"But we do have permission from Mr. Sullivan," I say.

Roz squints at me through her glasses. "Do you have it in writing?"

"Oh, I'm just . . . allowed. . ." I bluff, ". . . because I'm a relative."

"How are you related to Mr. Sullivan?"

"I'm his, er, um, cousin's sister's – uh, daughter," I stutter.

"Hmm."

Roz hands a key to Mike. "Here you go. But I'll be watching you! Always watching. Always."

"Man, she's nuts!" mutters Linden as Roz returns to her newspaper.

We walk through the Laugh Floor to the sounds of workers greeting us with "Hey, Mike," and "Yo, Michael!" and "Who's the chick with the sexy stripes?" The latter gets a menacing glare from Linden.

At the end of the Laugh Floor, we enter a room full of giant yellow canisters – where the laugh energy is captured. To the left is a beige door. "Is that the card key store?" asks Caprice.

"Yep," says Mike, unlocking the door with his key. Psyche and Caprice go inside just as the bell goes for lunch.

Everyone is leaving the Laugh Floor except for two monsters, one pink, one purple. "Need any help?" asks Mike.

"Kinda," says the pink monster. "These new control panels are hard to figure out. Which button sends the door back again?"

"Ooh, ooh," cries the purple monster, "is it this one?"

"No, Art," says Mike.

"Is it this one?"

"_No_, Art."

"Is it this one?"

"Absolutely not!" cries Mike. "Look, why don't you just let me sort it out while you guys go to lunch?"

"Really?" asks the pink monster. "Thank you, Mike!" He turns and leaves, with Art not far behind.

"See you around, Squishy!" Mike calls. "Well, that was lucky," he says to us. "Two tickets to the door vault. Now, hop on!"

Mike and Sophie grab a blue door, while Linden and I are holding on to a red one. Mike and Linden have their cell phones ready.

"Ready?" asks Mike.

A ball of fear rises in my throat. I swallow, and force it down.

"Ready," I say.

We both press the _Enter_ buttons –

– and we're flying.

I cling on to the door as the feeling of weightlessness suddenly hits me. Once we're on the metal track, both doors are speeding into a tunnel.

"Are you scared?" asks Linden.

"A little," I say. "I've done this before, but I don't remember it too well."

Linden's eyes widen. "Wow, there's a lot you haven't told us about."

_If only they knew. . . _

I can't say anything else, because when we emerge from the tunnel, there's a sight that leaves us both speechless.

Everywhere we look, there are doors. There are doors on both sides of the room and even more doors moving about on the tracks above and below us. There are red doors, yellow doors, green doors, brown doors, scarlet doors, black doors, ochre doors, peach doors, ruby doors, olive doors, violet doors, fawn doors, lilac doors, gold doors, chocolate doors, mauve doors, cream doors, crimson doors, silver doors, rose doors, azure doors, lemon doors, russet doors, grey doors, purple doors, white doors, pink doors, orange doors, blue doors – seeing all those doors reminds me of the task on our hands.

Somewhere in here, my door is waiting to be found.

But where?

"Going down!" cries Linden. "Hang on!"

Our door speeds up. It swoops along the track, and we can't help screaming as it does so. The red light above our door flickers, but we're not worried about that now. We plunge onto another, more crowded track. Linden's voice vibrates as she says, "We're going to crash, we're going to crash, we're going to crash. . ."

But we don't crash. Instead, we pop out of the mass of doors and see a crossroads ahead of us. We're either going straight ahead, to the left or to the right. Mike and Sophie, in front of us, carry on straight ahead. At the last minute, Linden and I veer off to the right.

Our door finally slows to a halt in a row of other doors. Linden and I hop off and balance precariously on the track below us.

"Okay," I say hurriedly, "we're looking for a white door with flowers on it. It's got a lot of cracks in it on this side because it was shredded years ago. I'll explain why later. Let me know if you've-"

"Found it!" yells Linden. She points to a door on the other side. "But how are we supposed to get all the way over there?"

Her phone beeps. "It's from Psyche," she says. "She wants a reminder of when your birthday is."

I roll my eyes. "February sixteenth," I say.

Linden pokes the touch-screen for a bit. "I've told her," she says at last. "They must store card keys under birthdays or something. Anyway, what about your door?"

"Make me laugh," I say.

"What?"

"Make me laugh," I repeat.

Linden thinks for a second, and then sniggers. "Do you remember that technique our old Drama teacher taught us to avoid stage fright? You know, when we had to imagine the Principal naked?"

The picture that springs to mind is hilarious. Our fat Principal, in his birthday suit . . . I bend over laughing, and so does Linden. Beeps come from all around as our laughter echoes across the vault.

When we straighten up, every door has a bright red light above it.

"If we go through a door here," I say, "and then find another closet door, we'll hopefully reappear on the other side. Then we'll just have to climb across to my door."

"Mary, you're a genius!" says Linden. It's the nicest thing she's ever said about me.

We open the red door and go inside.

Judging by the samba music, we're in Brazil. Outside this person's house, we race across the sandy beach of Rio to a nearby apartment block and push our way in front of another person.

"Can't we stay here for a little while?" begs Linden, but I carry on through another door of the same shade of red. When we pop out, we're on a platform scattered with abandoned doors.

"This doesn't look like the other side to me," says Linden.

"Well then, let's try again!" I say, jumping into a purple door.

This time, I land in a crowded room full of girls sitting cross-legged and humming. They're all wearing colourful clothes and headdresses. It looks like we're in India now.

"_Namaste!_" I whisper, waving as Linden and I creep around them. The girls don't open their eyes – they're too busy meditating. We find another bedroom, this time with a sleeping young boy in it.

His green closet door is on a moving track. I have to stop myself before I step out into thin air. Linden is checking her phone.

"Psyche says she's found your card key."

"Yes!" I punch the air. "Where was it?"

"Under a floorboard. Now, where's that stupid door?"

"You know what they say. . ." I leap over to the door in front of us, ". . . third time lucky!"

I reach out a hand, but Linden doesn't take it. "Come on," I say, "before we get separated!"

Linden grabs my hand and I pull her over as she leaps. I open a blue-and-red striped door.

We pick our way through a messy boy's bedroom. I can hear a bunch of men cheer, "Goal!" downstairs, and there's a portrait of the Queen of England in the hall. "Man, those Brits sure love soccer," I murmur, tiptoeing into a much tidier pink room.

Soon, we're on the other side of the vault. Looking up, my door is above us and slightly to the left.

Like I said, third time lucky.

Slowly but surely, we stretch out and pick our way across the doors. They wobble slightly under our weight. At one point, Linden nearly falls, but I grab her and she steadies herself. When we finally reach my door, exhausted from the climb, Sophie is waiting for us. The red light above the door is off.

"What took you so long?" she asks.

"Who cares?" says Linden. "We've got the door, and Psyche has the card key. That's all that matters."

"Say, where's Mike?" I ask.

My door lurches forward. We're off again. Next stop: the Simulation room.

"Mike just left me all alone," says Sophie. "He blurted out something about feeling randy and hopped into a door. I hope he got out okay."

"Ugh." Linden is disgusted, but I'm confused. "Are you sure he said he felt randy?" I ask.

Sophie thinks. "He might have been talking about a seal. Do seals ever feel randy?"

"Seal . . . randy. . ." I gasp. "He'd seen Randall!"

"Finally, you worked it out!"

My head whizzes around. "Who said that?"

Randall's ugly face pops up in front of me. I scream.

"I'll see you in Hell, you life-wrecker!" he growls.

He pushes an arm out.

"Mary!"

Sophie tries to grab me, but it's too late.

I'm falling.


	8. Chapter 8: Home and Away

**Author Notes: Thank you for the clarification, NintendoNerd4287. Thank you also to all reviewers, and don't forget the poll! :)**

Chapter 8: Home and Away

Fear rushes through me. My arms stretch up above me, scrabbling around, looking for something to grab onto. Nothing comes, except for the wind rushing past me. If I could have chosen how I would die, this wouldn't be the way I'd pick.

I take another look at Sophie and Linden hanging onto my door. I close my eyes. Time slows for a little bit. I hover in mid-air. I think of all the things I'm going to miss, like Kitty, Uncle Mike, Monstropolis, Sophie, Linden, Caprice, Psyche, my stepdad Damon, my stepbrother Kendall – and my mom. Despite the way she's treated me, I'm going to miss Mom. I wish we could have had a better relationship, but that's never going to happen now.

I take a deep breath and wait to hit the ground.

Something yanks at my leg. I'm not falling anymore. I'm travelling . . . sideways? I open my eyes and look up to see a blob of green.

"Mike!" I cry. "You saved me!"

I'm sure I can hear Linden and Sophie cheer.

"Let's get off this thing!" calls Mike.

He lets go of me, and I fly through the air in a low arc. I crash into a pile of doors on the platform I was on earlier. I try to stand up, but I'm pushed down again by someone landing on top of me.

"Sorry!" yelps Mike. He hops up, and I struggle to my feet. Linden and Sophie are disappearing into a tunnel.

"They're heading for the Simulation room," says Mike. "Come on, let's go!"

We crash through the emergency exit, run down the stairs and pound along the hallway. We're smiling all the way, and why wouldn't we? We've found my door and we have a way home.

I skid a little as we take an unexpected right turn. The doors to the Simulation room burst open just as my closet door is being lowered into its slot. Caprice and Psyche are standing by the control panel. The card key is in Psyche's hand.

"Mission accomplished," she says.

Linden and Sophie hop off. "It's a good job Mike was passing by when you fell," says Sophie. "Now we're all together again! And we got the door through teamwork! Isn't this great?"

The red light above my door turns on. Caprice slowly turns the knob and opens it up. "We can go home," she whispers. She steps inside. "Everything's how we left it." Psyche and Sophie follow her in and gaze at my room in wonder.

Linden stands in the doorway and sighs. "Now everything goes back to normal, right, Mary?" She walks into the bedroom, but I hang back. Linden's head pops out again. "Mary?"

I don't know why I'm not walking through into my bedroom like everyone else. I should be in there with my friends, celebrating our return to the human world and our old lives. So why am I still standing here in Monstropolis?

I don't want to go back.

Here, in the monster world, I can be Boo. I can be adventurous, curious, fun-loving. I can be Uncle Mike's niece or Kitty's cousin's sister's daughter. I can run around a bright city in a convincing monster costume without a care in the world. I can meet people who are all unique and special and don't treat you badly without good reason.

If I go back to the human world, I won't be Boo. I won't even be Mary. I'll be stupid, useless, hopeless, idiotic, in the way, a liability, the ugly girl who can't do anything right, the stubborn brat who drives her mother crazy. I know this, because that's what Mom's told me. I won't have a costume where I can hide from her – all my failings will be plain to see. But I'll still have to keep secrets.

Every time I draw a monstrous picture in Art and don't present it to the class, I'll be keeping secrets. Every time girls freak out over a tame horror film while I actually watch it, I'll be keeping secrets. Every time Mom hits me and leaves bruises that teachers notice, I'll be keeping secrets. You know what? I'm sick of keeping secrets.

But I don't know how to explain all this to my friends.

"Guys," I say, "you can go if you want to, but I'm staying here."

All four friends come back out and look at me like I'm nuts – with good reason.

"Mary," says Psyche, "it's daylight here now. Time passed as usual while we were in Monstropolis. We can't possibly stay here or we'll miss school! That's the place where we learn things!"

Linden rolls her eyes. "That's what you're worried about? School? What about our families? They'll have the police searching for us right now."

_Mom won't be calling the police_, I think. "Do we really want to go home right away?" I wheedle. "Don't you want to explore this colourful world?"

"Not really," says Linden. "These creatures give me the creeps."

"They have teeth and claws," whispers Caprice. "They're killing machines."

"_We're_ killing machines?" cries Mike. "You guys are the killing machines here! Our murder rates are way lower than yours!" He turns to me. "Boo, what are you thinking? You have to go home, it's where you belong."

"No, it's not," I say. "I belong here. People care about me here."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asks Linden.

"Nothing!" I yelp. "Well, I mean, uh. . ." I tail off.

There's a silence lingering in the room. It's like a mist, seeping in through the door, cloaking my friends, making it harder for me to see them. Then Sophie talks, and the mist vanishes.

"Remember 'The Wizard of Oz'?" she says. "I never understood that film. I mean, who wants to go back to a boring black-and-white farm when you can dance around Technicolor Oz in ruby slippers?"

"What are you saying?" asks Caprice.

"I'm saying we should give Monstropolis a chance. The door's not going anywhere now. We shouldn't waste a chance to see a whole new world." She puts a sea-green arm around me. "If Mary knows it's a good place, it's fine by me."

Psyche glances at the control panel. "I suppose I am curious to see how this advanced technology works. That would almost make up for not going to school."

"Um. . ." Caprice pauses when a leaf falls off her costume. She picks it up and sticks it back on. "I can stay. Mike's not so bad."

"High praise," mutters Mike.

My friends and I turn to Linden. She twists her cat tail around her arm.

"Fine," she sighs. "I'll stay too. But we need to stock up on body paint. And I want to wash my hair. It's getting greasy."

"Deal," I say.

"Group hug!" Caprice cheers, and soon we're embracing each other in a tight circle. I'm beaming from ear to ear. I've bought some time to savour the city and maybe explain things to my friends. It's a perfect moment, until –

"Mike Wazowski?"

We jump apart. Standing in the doorway is a massive, round-ish body of blue fur. The monster has two curled horns on his head, purple spines down his back and tail, and purple spots all over his body. He's wearing a green-and-red striped tie around his thick neck.

Mike stands to attention.

"Sulley? I mean, Mr. Sullivan?"

"I need to see you in my office," the monster says.

"What, now?"

"Now. And bring the girls with you."

The monster turns and walks away, and Mike scurries after him. My friends and I look at each other, raise our eyebrows, shrug, and follow them.


	9. Chapter 9: Mr Sullivan's Office

**Author Notes: Has anyone spotted the Technicolor Dreamcoat reference yet? Keep your reviews coming in. I love to hear what you think, be it fantastic praise or constructive criticism. Thank you! :)**

Chapter 9: Mr. Sullivan's Office

The first thing I notice about Mr. Sullivan's office is the giant window behind his desk. It's got a great view of the Laugh Floor below it, which is currently still empty. If I squint, I can just about see the outlines of a world map, so I'm guessing the window is hidden by a hologram or something. Inside the office itself, there is a mahogany desk with giant piles of paper stacked on top and a stand reading JAMES P. SULLIVAN. A pot plant droops pathetically in the corner next to an olive-green watering can. To the left are a messily-arranged bookshelf and a pin-board of photographs; to the right are five tall filing cabinets with a large plush toy of Mr. Sullivan lying on top. I read the tag around the toy's hand: "To Sulley, Celia found this in a gift shop. Can you believe what they sell in Tokyo? Hope you enjoyed your vacation. Mike."

Mr. Sullivan sits behind his desk in a leather, burgundy-coloured chair. He waves a hand towards a black, plastic chair, and Mike sits down immediately.

"Mike," says Mr. Sullivan, "what is the most important rule of the card key vault?"

Mike shuffles around in his chair. "Leave it how you found it?"

"No, that's the _second_ most important rule." Mr. Sullivan looks at me and my friends. "Do any of you kids know the rule? Anyone?"

We all stare at him and say nothing.

"Um. . ." says Psyche. "I have a feeling it has something to do with permission. . ."

"Correct!" says Mr. Sullivan. "No-one is allowed to enter the card key vault without my permission."

"You gave me permission last night," says Mike.

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did. We were talking for a little while and you were drinking, and then you said, 'Mike, take these kids to the card key store tomorrow.' So I did."

While Mike is talking, he never actually looks at Mr. Sullivan. Instead, he's looking at the name stand, and it's only when he finishes his "explanation" that he dares to raise his eye to his boss.

Mr. Sullivan is frowning. "I didn't touch anything alcoholic. I had a Halloween speech to make."

"Actually, you had quite a lot of wine to calm down." Mike grips his seat tightly. "I guess you just don't remember it because you drank so much."

"You drank too. How can you remember what I did?"

"Well, I didn't drink as much as you."

"A-ha!" Mr. Sullivan points to Mike triumphantly. "I said I remembered something and you didn't question it!"

"You didn't – I – surely. . ." Mike plays dumb. "Huh?"

Linden mutters, "Mike, you are terrible at lying."

"Hmm?" Mr. Sullivan is frowning at Linden now.

"Linden was just saying," says Caprice, "that Mike is great at telling the truth!" She grins, but her forehead is still creased with worry lines.

I sigh. "I can explain, Mr. Sullivan. We'd lost a particularly important closet door, so Mike was helping us find it."

My friends are looking at me strangely, but I carry on, "You can't be mad at him. Surely there's no harm in bending the rules to help an old friend?"

I take my hood off and wait.

Everyone gasps. Mr. Sullivan stands up and moves around his desk to stand in front of me. His eyes are poring over my face – the brown eyes, the black bob. "Boo?"

"Kitty, it's me!"

Mr. Sullivan – no, Kitty – smiles. "Well, that explains a lot! But wait, who are these guys?"

"These are my friends," I explain. "Sophie, Caprice, Linden and Psyche. Since you almost crashed my slumber party, and Randall got back in, I had to tell them about Monstropolis."

"Don't worry, Mr. Sullivan," says Sophie, "your secret is safe with us. Oh, can I just say that you have a great company here?"

"Thanks," says Kitty. His face falls. "It might not be safe anymore, though."

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"Did you see what Randall did at the party last night?"

Mike shakes his head. "We left early."

"Well, right when I was about to make the speech, he jumped out of nowhere and grabbed the microphone. He started telling everyone that laughter is not the future because monsters were born to scare. 'A scream is a dream,' he said. And then he disappeared."

"He's up to something, that's for sure," I say. "He tried to kill me in the door vault!"

"He did?" Kitty seems choked up. He suddenly hugs me. I hug him back, clutching him tightly, sniffing his comforting, homely smell. This is what we used to do a lot when Kitty visited my room. We haven't truly hugged like this since the disastrous wedding day, when I told him wanted to keep things distanced.

We let go eventually. Kitty says, "Maybe you should leave here. This place obviously isn't safe with Randall about."

"He knows where my door is," I say. "If I go back, he'll just follow me through and do something terrible."

"Boo's right," Sophie chips in. "We have to stay until this whole mess is sorted out. There's nothing else we can do."

Mike folds his arms. "Well, they're not staying at my place again."

"Why not?" asks Kitty. "You're good with kids-"

"Yeah, kids, Sulley, _kids_. These are teenagers. It's a completely different ballgame."

"They'd be safer in your apartment." Kitty's trying a different tactic. "After all, it's me that Randall really hates, not you."

Mike chews his bottom lip. Kitty raises an eyebrow expectantly. We all wait to see if Mike will defy his boss or go along with the plan.

Mike stands up. "Okay, I'll take the kids." He starts walking backwards. "But the sooner we work out what Randall's up to, the sooner we can stop it and the sooner the girls can-"

He trips over the watering can, yelps, and falls in the plant pot.

Psyche giggles, and then laughs out loud. The light in the office brightens. Caprice clamps a hand over Psyche's mouth. The light returns to its normal brightness.

Kitty pulls Mike up and brushes some soil off his butt. "That was close. You look where you're going, and you should be fine."

"Thanks," grumbles Mike. "Come on, girls, I'll take you back to the apartment."

The bell rings, signalling the end of lunch.


	10. Chapter 10: Walking with Celia

**Author Notes: Okay, I've got a new challenge – some song lyrics appear in this chapter, and you've got to work out where they come from. First one to spot it doesn't get a prize, but I will publish a new chapter, so don't worry about that! Keep you reviews coming in! :)**

Chapter 10: Walking with Celia

It's a sunny Monday morning. Mike is driving work. Scarelett and Fearona are taking the bus to school. It's just Celia, Roary, my friends and me in the house – which is incredibly awkward.

"So," Sophie says, too cheerfully, "what shall we do for fun?"

"We could see what's on TV, I guess," says Linden as she lies on the long green couch. Psyche joins her, carrying three remotes in her hands.

"I don't understand modern televisions sometimes," she complains. "Who needs three doobries?"

"They're not _doobries_, they're TV remotes," says Linden. She snatches one out of Psyche's hand and starts channel-hopping. The button makes a clicking sound when she presses it.

"A cat with nine tails was rescued from a tree by a brave fireman, who, coincidentally, has nine arms-"

_Click_.

"Kids, remember to look both ways before you cross the road-!"

_Click_.

"Gosh, Kelly! How did you have the time to cheat on three men and look after your aunt's new baby without-?"

_Click_.

"Oversized handbags are, like, _so_ totally the look for this fall-"

_Click_.

"_Okay, now he was close, tried to domesticate you,_

_But you're an animal, baby it's in your nature-_"

Celia walks over to the window. "It's too nice a day to sit in watching TV. Let's go out somewhere!" She grins at us all, but her smile disappears when she sees my costume. "Isn't that what you wore when you first came here?"

"Yes," I say.

"Won't someone recognise it?"

I shrug. "It was too long ago. But if anyone asks, I'll just play dumb."

Celia relaxes. "Let's go then!"

"But I like this song!" groans Linden.

Psyche takes the remote back and turns the TV off. We leave the apartment.

Monstropolis Park is beautiful at this time of year. Somehow, the grass is still bright green, interrupted only by stretches of gravelly paths. The trees, on the other hand, have leaves of earthy colours. On just one tree, I can see leaves of brown, red, orange and yellow, illuminated by the Sun. Nestled between branches are two-tailed squirrels and two-headed pigeons – creatures that would be freaky in the human world, but are relaxing to watch in Monstropolis Park.

Celia, pushing Roary in a pram, spots a bench made of wood the same colour as the tree trunks. She sits down immediately, but the girls and I stay standing. Caprice is watching a group of children playing Tag.

"Remember when we used to play Tag?" she says. "It was our favourite game."

"We still can play it," says Sophie. She suddenly grabs Caprice's arm. "Tag! You're it!"

"Hey!" cries Caprice. Sophie runs away, but Caprice follows close behind. Pretty soon, we're all darting between trees and hiding, then yelping and running again when Caprice spots us. Caprice is hopeless at Tag because she keeps stopping to stick leaves back on her costume, so eventually Sophie lets herself get caught – and that's when the fun really begins. You see, Sophie runs track at school, so she never gets tired and is always fast, even in flippers. The game becomes a frenzy of squeals and laughter – it's okay out here because there's nothing electrical. It's just fun.

It's only when I'm tagged myself that I realise how hot I am. It's not a particularly warm day, but the fast-paced game and my costume are making me sweat. I collapse onto the bench beside Celia.

"Mary!" says Sophie. "You can't sit down! You're it!"

I poke Psyche. "Tag," I gasp. "You guys keep playing . . . I'll catch up in a bit."

The girls run away. My chest heaves. I reach into the hood of my costume and wipe away from sweat.

"Will you be all right?" asks Celia.

"Yeah," I say. Already, my heartbeat is slowing to a normal pace and it's getting easier to breathe. "That was a good game. It's nice to be childish once in a while."

"I agree," says Celia.

We sit in comfortable silence – until Celia screams.

"What's wrong?" I say.

"Randall-"

Another flash of purple.

A cloth over my face.

The world fades into darkness.


	11. Chapter 11: Randall's Secret Lair

**Author Notes: Sorry for the late update. I haven't been feeling too well recently because of a stomach bug. In fact, there may not be an update for a while – I'll be going back to school soon. Still, I shall try to finish this story, so don't worry about that. For now, enjoy reading this chapter! And let me know if you've found the Dreamcoat reference in Chapter 7 or named the song in Chapter 10! :)**

Chapter 11: Randall's Secret Lair

The first thing I notice when I wake up is the smell – a thick, pungent smell that makes my nose burn. Right now, the world is blurry. I groggily lift my head and blink a few times to clear my eyes, but I still can't see a lot in this dark room besides a few wires and pipes. All around me are the sounds of hissing and water droplets leaking from the pipes.

"Boo?"

The voice makes me jump. On the other side of the room, Uncle Mike is sitting in a chair that resembles an upturned colander. His wrists are clamped onto a metal bar that stretches across in front of him. His eyelid, once green like the rest of him, is now a purple-black.

"Mike!" I try to get up, but my arms are stuck. When I look down, I'm trapped in my seat just like him. "What happened? What does Randall want?"

As I mention his name, Randall emerges from the shadows. "Finally, you're awake," he says. "Remember this place?"

I look around again. I have a vague memory of being help prisoner here, and of a machine that was going to suck me up, but that's it. I must have blocked out the rest.

"What are you doing?" I ask. "I can sort of understand why you'd want to kidnap me, but why is Mike here as well?"

"Oh, he was just revealing where he's keeping you," says Randall, "so I could come and get you."

I gasp. "Mike, how could you?"

Mike can't look at me. I notice the purple bruises all over his body and the white bandages around the fingers on his left hand. Those injuries, and the black eye, make it clear what happened.

He was tortured.

"I'm sssorry," he whispers, whistling a little on the "s." He has a front tooth missing as well.

"When I got to his apartment block, you were just leaving with your friends," Randall explains. "All I had to do was follow you to the park and then pick the moment to strike. So now I've got what I wanted."

I grip the metal bar. "Are you going to kill me like you almost killed me in the door vault?"

Randall laughs. "No. I've got a _better_ plan for revenge."

I glance at Mike and raise an eyebrow. Randall stands in front of me, forcing me to look at him.

"If you look up 'monster' in the dictionary," he says, "it's defined as 'a large, ugly, _frightening_ creature.' They don't mention anything about monsters being funny, do they?"

"No," I say. "But dictionaries can change, can't they?"

Randall rolls his eyes. "They can, but they shouldn't. That's why I don't like to see monsters going into doors to make kids laugh."

Mike pipes up, "Laughter isss ten timesss more powerful than ssscreamsss-"

"Shut up, Wazowski!" snaps Randall, whipping round and grabbing Mike's arm. He leans in and spits in Mike's face, "I don't care if it's a million times more powerful than screams. It's not natural!"

Mike curls up his legs protectively and whimpers.

"You were saying?" I ask.

Randall turns back to me, grinning. "Laughter may be more powerful, but what if it's too powerful? What if it leaks and causes a blackout? That's why I've got this."

The ceiling opens up and a machine is lowered down. It's black all over, with a long funnel and lots of wires coming off it. At the back are some giant yellow canisters. I recognise it immediately – it was the machine that Randall used on me twelve years ago.

When the machine finally stops moving, Randall strokes it proudly. "Say hello to the Laugh Extractor."

"Hello," I say.

Randall glares at me. "Once I've got the rest of your friends, I'll use your uncle-" he points to Mike "-as a little performing monkey to collect all your laughs. Then I'll leak the energy across Monstropolis and create some blackouts, which will get people asking questions about Monsters, Inc. Once that happens, the laugh programme is finished, and Sullivan's reputation is ruined."

"Strong words," I mutter.

Randall nods. "After that, I won't have any use for your friends, so I'll just have to kill them."

I gasp.

"And if Wazowski doesn't have an audience, he's no use to me. So I'll kill him too."

"What?" cries Mike.

"By then Sullivan will have lost pretty much everything – his company, his best friend . . . looks like your Kitty will have to be put to sleep."

"No!" I shout.

"And then I'll kill you!" yells Randall. "And I will finally have my revenge on Mary Gibbs!"

He grabs hold of the Laugh Extractor and points it at me.

"So," he says quietly, "shall we put this plan into action?"


	12. Chapter 12: The Laugh Extractor

**Author Notes: Congratulations, Anna Sparkles! You recognised the song in Chapter 10! It's been a while since I last updated this – I've know how it's going to end, but I'm still not sure how to get there. Well, I'm going back to school soon, but I'll have time at the weekend to work something out! In the meantime, enjoy this chapter, and keep those reviews coming in! :)**

Chapter 12: The Laugh Extractor

The darkness in the funnel seems to go on forever. I squeeze my eyes shut. This can't be happening. This is all just another bad dream. My brain's thinking crazy thoughts because of the chloroform.

When I open my eyes, the funnel's still there. I'm panicking now. I push up with my hands, but the clamps won't budge. I kick my legs out at the machine, but they don't reach.

"Trying to leave already?" asks Randall. "But you'll miss the show!" As he smiles at me, I notice him fiddling with a few sliders on a control panel. A low whir kicks in. The funnel slowly advances towards my face and stops just a few inches from my mouth.

I frown bravely and imagine that there's a zip across my lips. _I am not going to laugh for this creep. _

Next, Randall releases Mike from the chair and pushes him into a space next to the Laugh Extractor.

"Do your thing," he hisses, just loud enough for me to hear.

Mike glances from Randall to me and back again. "Hey," he says, nervously waving.

Randall pokes his head.

"Hey!" Mike cries out. He wipes off the place where Randall poked him. "Good afternoon! It's, uh, it's great to be here in . . . Randall's secret lair! Who are you, where are you from?"

He holds out a hand to me as if he's got a microphone. I don't say anything. My lips are zipped.

"Whoa, tough crowd," Mike mutters. "You're in the tenth grade, right? I loved tenth grade! Best three years of my life!"

I don't laugh.

"Of my life," Mike repeats.

I get the joke, but I still don't laugh.

"But do you know what my favourite thing about school was?" Mike presses on. "Dodgeball! Seriously, I was the fastest one out there." He grins. "Of course, I was the ball!"

I smile a little.

"You see, I . . . was the ball," he repeats.

I stop smiling. Mike's grin fades.

Randall grabs Mike's arm and shakes him violently. "What's wrong with you, Wazowski?!" he snaps. "You're supposed to be the Comedian of the Month! The point of a joke is that it's funny!"

"It's not his jokes," I say hurriedly.

Randall and Mike both stare at me.

I swallow. I don't want Randall to hurt Mike any more than he has done. "It's just hard to see the funny side of anything when you've got a vacuum cleaner in your face."

"I know, it sucks!" says Mike.

A giggle escapes my lips. I hold it back, but it's too much. I have to give in to the unexpected wordplay, and I burst out laughing. The whirrs and beeps and hisses go into overdrive until, suddenly, there's an explosion. I stop laughing then and start screaming instead. Blue zigzags of electricity shoot over our heads. More and more steam pours in from the pipes. Randall covers my mouth.

Everything is quiet again. Randall takes his hand away from my mouth and sniffs the air.

"Something's burning," he says.

I sniff too. He's right – the room is filling with dark-grey smoke. I cough, and so do Mike and Randall.

"Well, I'm not hanging around here any longer," Randall wheezes. He darts away into the darkness.

Mike looks on after him and tiptoes to my chair. He pulls a lever and the bar goes up, releasing me. I stand up slowly.

"Thanks," I whisper. My eyes are hurting. I blink hard.

An orange glow catches my eye. Turning to my left, I see flickers of orange and yellow flame in the far corner of the room. They're growing bigger and quickly spreading along the pipes and wires – towards us.

"I'm not hanging around here, either," Mike says. "We gotta spread the word! If those flames reach the door vault-"

I grab Mike's hand and pull him away from the fire. There must be a secret exit around here somewhere. . .


	13. Chapter 13: Fanning the Flames

Chapter 13: Fanning the Flames

We crash through a hole in the wall. Smoke billows out behind us, followed by a WHOOSH of flames. With the ring of the bell, the monsters that were just wandering along the hallway minding their own business are now running away, terrified.

"Fire!"

"Get to the emergency exit!"

"Where's the emergency exit?"

"There it is!"

"No, that's not it."

Monsters, Inc. is in chaos. Mike and I pick up the pace and follow everyone else through the building. As we run, I notice that the fire wasn't just in the lair – small patches of flame are cropping up all over the place. I only get a glimpse of these mini-fires when I'm almost crushed by the panicky monsters surrounding me. Everyone is pushing past each other in a bid to get away first.

I trip over someone's tail and hit the floor. All the air is knocked out of me. My head feels like it's been punched. I try to get up, but a hulking mass of fur treads on my tentacle hand. "Ow!" I cry. No-one stops to help me.

"Mike!" I yell.

Within seconds, a green hand takes mine.

"I've got you," says Mike. He pulls me up and drags me towards a bright light.

We leave through the emergency exit. Monsters are lining up in the parking lot, between the cars. There's a fire truck to the right-hand side of the building, and policemen are outside the fence trying to control the crowds. I scan the parking lot and catch a glimpse of-

"Celia!"

She's getting out of Mike's car, with Roary in her arms and all my friends around her. I run over. "What are you guys doing here?"

"We were looking for you," says Sophie. "We'd only just got here when the fire truck drove in and everyone went crazy."

Celia hugs Mike with one arm. "Googly-bear, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," says Mike. "Okay, remember the Scream Extractor I told you about?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, now it's a Laugh Extractor, because Randall had this crazy plot to ruin Monsters, Inc., and he threatened to kill a lot of people, but then Boo laughed at something-"

"-and now Monsters, Inc. is burning down," Linden finishes for him.

"Ooh, that could be a song!" says Psyche. She starts singing to the tune of "LondonBridge is Falling Down." "_Monsters, Inc. is burning down, burning down, burning down-_"

"This isn't the right time!" I snap. "Where's Kitty?"

"Well, he should be over there-" Celia points to a group of monsters in suits "-with the other big bosses. I can't see him, though."

"Exactly!" I say. "Don't you get it?"

Everyone looks at me. I'm taking that as a "no."

"Don't you get it?" I repeat. "Randall could still be in the building! He's not going to let Kitty get out, is he?"

"The fire-fighters are trained to deal with this-" Celia starts, but I cut her off.

"They're not trained to deal with Randall, are they? I've got to sort this out myself." I turn back to the building and walk away.

"Where are you going?" asks Mike.

"I'm going to save Kitty's life."

"Boo, you're crazy." Mike grabs my arm, and I pull away.

"Do you want to see your best friend go up in flames?" I ask.

"No, but I don't want to see you go up in flames, either! You shouldn't be getting involved in this."

"And whose fault is that?" I shout. Everyone's looking at us, but for once, I don't care. "If you'd bothered to file your paperwork twelve years ago, none of this would be happening!" I clench my fists. "And don't try telling me it's not true because you know it is!"

Mike gasps. He starts to say something, but stops. He looks down at the ground, and I swear I've never seen him so miserable. Why was I so angry all of a sudden? How could I hurt my uncle in this way?

I sigh. "Look, Kitty risked everything for me when I was in trouble. I'm just returning the favour."

I set off towards Monsters, Inc. again. I think about what would happen if I didn't make it out alive. When I nearly died in the door vault yesterday, I was scared because I thought my life would have been a wasted life. For as long as I could remember, I had to conceal the monster world from everyone I loved, and that was a burden I didn't want to carry.

But now, as I'm about to die again, something clicks in my brain, like a light switch illuminating the truth. I wasn't hiding the monsters from the humans; I was hiding my true self from the humans. When I was with my human family and friends, I was Mary Gibbs, the secretive loner, afraid of nothing except her mother's wrath. But when I was with Kitty and Uncle Mike, I was Boo, the girl who loved playing hide-and-seek, the girl who had a vivid imagination and artistic talent and a slightly immature sense of humour. No-one truly understood me except for my monsters.

In a weird way, I'm glad that my friends got to see this place. Now they've finally seen the real me.

My life has only been worth living because of Monstropolis.

I just wish I'd realised that sooner.

Someone takes my hand and forces me to turn around. It's a sea-green arm. It's Sophie.

"You really care about these guys, don't you?" she asks.

I nod.

"So do we," says Sophie. "Best friends stick together, right?"

Caprice, Psyche and Linden gather round.

"We'll take on Randall as a team," says Linden.

"I took self-defence classes," Caprice pipes up. "I only did three lessons, but it's something to use against him."

I smile. "Well, then, what are we waiting for? Come on, let's go!"

We all run towards the building, ignoring the fire-fighter's calls to stop.


	14. Chapter 14: The Final Showdown

**Author Notes: There's not much to go until the end of the story now! Please keep reading and reviewing – I really appreciate that you're all reading this. It truly makes it all worthwhile. Keep an eye out for some more stories coming soon – next, I hope to write some "Cars" oneshots when I'm not revising for my GCSEs. Thank you all so much! :)**

Chapter 14: The Final Showdown

The air is filled with smoke. The clean appearance of the building has been tarnished with soot. Some fire-fighters must already be hard at work, judging by the puddles of dirty water on the floor. I don't pay attention to my wet feet – I'm just trying to find Kitty's office.

After climbing a flight of stairs, I see the familiar door with his name on it. The word ENGAGED is lit up in red beside it, but I push the door open anyway . . .

. . . and get the shock of my life.

The office is a mess. The pin-board has fallen down, and pieces of paper are scattered all over the floor. The filing cabinets have all been knocked over. The plush toy lies next to the pot plant, its head separated from its body. The window is glowing orange.

That's not what I'm worried about, though. I'm worried about Kitty. He's pinned down in his chair, and Randall's got him in a headlock.

"Okay, Randall," I say slowly. "I know you're angry with us, but violence is not the answer."

"Except in this case," he says.

I put my hood down. "What's killing Kitty going to accomplish? Haven't you done enough damage? You're already burning down his company-"

"No, I'm not," Randall butts in, "_you_ are."

"Stop twisting my words!" I snap. "Didn't anyone ever tell you to forgive and forget?"

"Oh, yeah, I've heard that crap from a lot of people now," Randall snarls. "How can I forget twelve years stuck in a world where I can't even say hello without causing a scene? How can I even forgive someone for that?"

I've got to calm Randall down. "I think we could help you," I say. "Let go of Kitty, and we'll talk."

Randall and I stare into each other's eyes. I force myself to really focus on those cold, green eyes. He's the first to look away. He lets go, and I breathe a sigh of relief.

But then Randall's hands close in around Kitty's neck.

"No!" I shout.

Kitty looks awful. His eyes aren't focusing. He's making weird, squeaky noises. Randall bitterly smiles.

"Don't you worry about your precious Kitty," he says. "Soon, you won't have _anything_ to worry about."

I close my eyes to stop the tears from falling.

_I'm sorry, Kitty._

Suddenly, there's a loud clang and an "Ow!" I open my eyes to see Randall sprawled out across the desk, knocked unconscious.

Uncle Mike is brandishing a black, plastic chair.

"Mike!" I cry happily.

Mike drops the chair and pulls Randall's hands behind his back. "Do we have a rope here or something?"

Caprice yanks Linden's cat tail off her belt and hands it over. Pretty soon, Randall is tied up.

"You're not going anywhere anytime soon," Kitty wheezes. He coughs a little.

Mike pats his back. "There, there, don't try to talk," he says in a soothing voice.

I turn to my friends. "Group hug?" I say hopefully, and they oblige. After all, Mike has saved us for the second time in two days, which I think is good cause for celebration. So much has happened, but I've still got all my friends at the end of it all, both human and monstrous. I'm filling up with happiness.

When we break apart, Psyche unzips her jacket and puts her hood down. "Am I the only person who's noticed how hot it is in here?"

"The fire!" Sophie gasps. "We need to get out of here before-"

A team of fire-fighters runs into the office, stopping abruptly at the sight of us. Psyche has exposed her human head. Linden's tail is wrapped around another monster's wrists. And my hood is down.

I've been caught red-handed – again.

"Oh, boy," a slimy monster remarks. "I knew we were gonna have a tough day ahead, but jeez. . ."

"Let's get out of here before we burn, and then we'll explain what's going on," says Mike.

"Good idea," says the furry chief. The slimy monster picks up Randall and hauls him over his shoulder while everyone else is ushered out the office.

Surrounded by fire-fighters, we begin the walk of shame towards the exit. A scaly fire-fighter whispers something to the chief. I only just catch what the chief says back, and his words make my heart race.

"I think we'd better call the CDA."


	15. Chapter 15: Speech for Roz

**Author Notes: Not long to go now – just one more chapter and an epilogue! Thank you all so much for reading and reviewing! I've had a great time writing this, and I hope you've enjoyed reading it. :)**

Chapter 15: Speech for Roz

My friends and I are sitting in a cell at the Child Detection Agency headquarters. The only piece of furniture is a wooden bench, which is too hard and hurts my butt. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm past caring.

Someone unlocks the door, and we all look up. It's Agent Number One – better known as Roz.

"Well, you kids have got yourselves into a fine mess, haven't you?" she drones.

I bite my lip nervously. "What happens next?" I ask.

"Right now, Randall is in a maximum-security unit," says Roz, "so you can forget about him. We just need to find your door and make sure you all go home safely."

"But didn't you say the Laugh Simulation room was completely destroyed?" asks Caprice. "How _can_ we go home?"

"The CDA has copies of every closet door in the world for events like this." Roz stares at me in a way that makes me nervous. "We never thought we'd have to use any of them, though."

I take a deep breath. I'm relieved that we can still go back, but something's been playing on my mind. "Roz?"

"Yes?"

I swallow. "Will I still be able to see Kitty – I mean, Mr. Sullivan?"

Roz doesn't say anything. Her facial expression doesn't change at all; I've got no idea what she's thinking. While I wait, I force myself to keep breathing – in and out, in and out, in and out. . .

Finally, she says, "I'll allow it. He's suffered enough."

I smile, even though my eyes are filling up with tears. "Thank you."

After about an hour of searching the archives, they've found my door. It looks the same as it always did, white with painted flowers. I can't make my feet move towards it, though. I just stand and look at it, while Roz, the CDA agents and my friends wait around me.

Sophie slowly opens the door. "Are you ready?" she asks.

I shrug. "I don't know. I'm worried about what my mom will do."

"I'm sure she'll be happy to see you," says Sophie.

"No, she won't."

"Come on, Mary," Linden sighs, "she's your mother."

"Yeah," I say, "but she wishes she wasn't my mother. She hates me. She prefers Kendall, and he's not even her own son."

"That's ridiculous," says Psyche. "You mustn't think things like that."

"I don't just think it, I _know_ it."

"And _I_ know you're just talking to make us stay a little longer," says Linden. "But it's not going to happen again!"

She makes for the door.

"Wait!" I shout. Linden stops. I backtrack, "I mean, let's go! I mean . . . oh, man, I wish I didn't have to keep secrets all the time."

"What are you talking about?" asks Sophie.

"Wouldn't things be a lot easier if the humans knew about the monster world, instead of being kept in the dark? Monsters have seen all the things that humans can do, so why can't humans experience the superior technology of the monsters?" I point to Psyche. "Psyche, didn't you say you wanted to stay in Monstropolis to see how the door portals worked?"

Psyche nods nervously.

"Well then, let the humans see that! Why all the secrecy?" I turn to Roz. "I bet you could get a lot more kids to laugh and get a lot more energy if they knew of the existence of the monster world. Let's teach each other not to be scared of each other!" I punch the air to make a point.

One of the CDA agents starts clapping, and soon everyone joins in, even Roz. My friends surround me and give me a big hug, and at the moment I feel like I'm soaring over the moon.

"That's my girl!"

My friends break apart. I turn and gasp.

"Mom?!"

She's seen the whole thing.


	16. Chapter 16: Conversations with Mom

**Author Notes: This is the last chapter, excluding the epilogue. What a story! Thank you for reading it and leaving such lovely reviews – it makes it all worthwhile! :) There is a small "Monsters University" reference, but I won't tell you what it is. I don't want to spoil it for anyone. **

Chapter 16: Conversations with Mom

My eyes widen. My heart pounds. I take a few steps into my bedroom. Mom stands in front of me, smiling. Her red t-shirt and pink pants are creased and don't match at all. Like me, she has brown eyes and black hair. Unlike me, her nose is tiny and there are a few wrinkles around her eyes, but not too many – she actually looks too young to be thirty-two. She stretches her arms out.

"Mary?"

I cautiously hug my mom. Her rosy perfume smells nice, but I prefer her cosy, motherly natural smell.

"I've been waiting for you to open up for seven years now," she whispers.

I pull away. "Huh?"

My friends slowly come in through the closet door. Mom looks at them.

"So that's where you went?" she sighs. "We could have saved the police a lot of trouble."

"The police are looking for us?" gasps Linden. "Are we gonna be on TV?"

Mom laughs. "I think you'd better call your parents and let them know you're safe before we think about TV." She waves a hand towards the door to the hallway. "There's a phone downstairs, if you want to use that."

"We have our own phones-" Psyche starts to say, but Sophie takes her hand and guides her and the rest of my friends out.

"Let's leave them alone for a while," she whispers.

Once my friends have gone, Roz comes to the closet door and peers in. "I'll see you around," she says to me, before closing the door.

I look at Mom. "Did you know about Monstropolis?"

Mom nods. "I've known about that place since I was ten," she says.

I gasp. "You what?"

"It was while I was at Camp Teamwork," she says. The name rings a bell in my head. "One night, this creature came out of the closet and tried to roar at us. He really wasn't that scary, to be honest. He was small and green, and I think he only had one eye-"

"That was Uncle Mike!" I butt in.

Mom looks at me. "Yeah, I thought you'd recognise the description. Anyway, when I got home, I went to the library and used their new computer to look up what he might be. Computers were pretty damn slow in those days, but eventually I found out what I needed to know."

"What was that?" I ask.

Mom puts a hand on my shoulder. "I clicked on the Monsters, Inc. homepage," she says. "I read it all, and it made sense to me. It made sense of the monster that came out of that closet. I knew everything about that place and what they did."

I frown. "You got onto a monster webpage from the human world? Is that even possible?"

"You tell me," says Mom. She lets go of me. "Actually, don't bother. You never tell me anything these days."

I roll my eyes. "Maybe if you'd opened up about the website, I could have shown you what that place was really like."

"How could I tell you?" Mom snaps. "Parenting is a two-way street, you know." Her voice gets louder as she talks. "I was trying to build a happy home for you and all I got was a wall of silence, while you ran off to play with a bunch of freaks!"

She raises a hand. I leap back, waiting for the blow that doesn't come. Mom stares at her hand, as if it's not her hand, as if it suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It drops to her side. She sighs, and sits down on the bed.

"I knew that _you_ knew about that place," she whispers. "You showed me your pictures of the little green guy. I wanted to share it with you, but there was that incident when you were eight-"

I remember Mike's disastrous wedding and shudder.

"-and after that, you wouldn't talk." I can see tears building up in her eyes. "I wondered if I was a bad mother, and then I started blaming your . . . father."

I join my mom on the bed. She's never talked about my father – at least, when she did, she never called him my father. He was always "that man" or "the rapist."

"I thought, if he hadn't done that to me when I was seventeen," Mom continues, "I would be going out and having fun, instead of working and coming home to a girl who didn't trust me. I wanted to see him in front of me so I could let him have it. But that wasn't possible, so. . ."

". . . So you let me have it," I finish.

We both sit in silence. I'm struggling to take in what I've just heard. Mom explained everything . . . and she's _not_ openly blaming me? This must be a first.

"No wonder you preferred Kendall," I say.

"Huh?" Mom laughs suddenly. "You think I'd choose my lazy, nose-picking stepson over my own daughter?" She smiles. "I mean, he can be sweet, but he can also be very annoying."

"I'll say!" I laugh.

Mom laughs with me, but then she stops and takes my hand in hers. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

"Me too," I say.

Mom frowns. "Nothing was ever your fault, Boo," she says. "It was mine. But now that everything's out in the open . . . can we try again?"

I blink back tears. Trying again . . . the way Mom said it made it sound like it's as easy as A B C. I know that we can't just undo seven years of hurt and secrecy that quickly. But I _do_ want to try.

I realise something.

"You called me Boo."

Mom nods. "Do you mind?"

I shrug and smile. "Not at all."


	17. Author's Note

**Hey there, eveyone! I know I said I was going to write an epilogue, but I've been thinking about it, and I've decided not to include it. It didn't really fit in with the rest of the story, and I like the way it's ended here, with Boo and her mother reconciling after all these years. I like a slightly open-ended ending - it encourages readers to make up their own minds about what happens next, just like the end of the original "Monsters, Inc." **

**So instead, I'm going to mark this story as Complete and get to work on another story. I've got lots of ideas for it. It's going to focus on Mike's son and Sulley's daughter, who are childhood friends, and how their relationship deepens at university. I've got a whole series planned out, so watch this space! **

**Thank you to everyone who read this story and everyone who left reviews, and I hope to get a lot more readers and reviewers in the future! **

**MaterLisa**


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